Chapter 2 - The Interception
Marco handed me the tablet.
Displayed on the glowing screen were the financial records for the blind trust I had established the day I signed the divorce papers. I had walked away from Elena to protect her from the violent, unforgiving syndicate my family ran, but I had left her with twenty million dollars, a luxury penthouse, and lifetime security. I thought I was giving her a safe, beautiful life.
Instead, the account balance read zero.
"The trust was frozen seventy-two hours after the divorce was finalized, Boss," Marco said, his voice deadly quiet. "The deed to her penthouse was revoked. Her credit lines were blacklisted. Whoever did this didn't just take her money—they systematically flagged her name across every hiring agency and leasing office in New York. They made sure she couldn't work, couldn't eat, and couldn't ask for help."
I stared at the authorization signature that had bypassed my security protocols.
Julian Mercer.
My younger brother. The man I had handed the keys to the legitimate side of the Mercer empire so I could cleanly exit the underworld. Julian had always despised Elena for "making me soft." He viewed my departure as a betrayal to our legacy, and he had decided to punish the woman he blamed for it.
"Marco," I whispered, a dark, suffocating rage waking up inside me—a monster I had spent three years desperately trying to bury.
May you like
"Yes, Boss?"
"Lock down the hospital. I want six men on this floor, two at her door, and no one except Dr. Bennett gets within fifty feet of this room." I turned away from the glass, the last trace of the civilized man I had been pretending to be completely evaporating. "Then, get the cars. We are going to a board meeting."
